Mets Beat the Cardinals Again as Jacob DeGrom Settles In

Mets reliever Jeurys Familia, left, recorded the final four outs on Saturday for his first save of the season.Credit
Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Two games into the season, the Mets have produced two wins with stout pitching and solid hitting, but a 6-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday also produced the Mets’ first injury exit of 2018.

Anthony Swarzak, a right-handed newcomer in the bullpen, grimaced after firing a pitch with two outs in the eighth inning. After a visit from Mets Manager Mickey Callaway and the head athletic trainer, Brian Chicklo, Swarzak left the mound with what the team described as a sore left oblique. He will be revaluated on Sunday.

Jacob deGrom, the Mets’ ace, started off inefficiently but ended up allowing just one run and striking out seven over five and two-thirds innings. Three Mets relievers combined to allow one run for the rest of the game. Swarzak allowed the run and threw 30 pitches over one and one-third innings.

Third baseman Todd Frazier, another new Met, collected only one hit yet drove in three runs. He also faced a minor scare, when he was hit on the left hand by a pitch from the Cardinals’ starter, Michael Wacha, in the fifth inning, but he stayed in the game.

Catcher Travis d’Arnaud hit the Mets’ first home run of the season, a solo blast in the fourth inning. Left fielder Yoenis Cespedes hit one of his own an inning later. Second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, who batted in the leadoff spot, collected three hits.

DeGrom threw 58 pitches through the first three innings, but allowed just five Cardinals to reach base and finished with 101 pitches. In the chilly weather, deGrom said, he lost the feel and command of his fastball, so he used his secondary pitches more.